Scowling and shaking herself from her fantasies, Sabrina turned her attention back to the book, but although she read on, she didn't find anything else in that particular volume that proved especially insightful.

Turning to the second book, A History of Witches in the Schwarzwald, Sabrina admired the gold-edged pages before studying the table of contents. While it seemed as if the book was intended to be a chronology, starting with the arrival of witches in the Black Forest and recording information about their lives in great detail, it was also interspersed with stories of a more fable-like nature.

There was one about a creature called the groBe Böse wolf, a monstrous wolf who roamed the Schwarzwald devouring witches, and Sabrina shuddered and quickly turned the page, not wanting to dwell on something that might give her nightmares.

She paused on a page that featured a beautifully-illustrated fox at the top...even though the vegetable dye ink had faded over the years since the book had been written, the fox's citrine-colored coat shone warm and yellow, like a bit of sunshine captured and pressed onto the page.

Sabrina had never heard this children's story before and while part of her felt silly reading what was clearly a bedtime tale, given that it wasn't directly related to her research, the Leiten Stone had directed her to this book, so surely there was no harm in reading something more for pleasure than education.

The Treasure Fox is one of the most elusive creatures in the Schwarzwald. Often known as a trickster or prankster, this clever creature can be found in the most unexpected places...dancing on top of a fallen log beneath a sunbeam, paddling around a moss-filled pond, diving deep beneath the water to admire the shiny fish, or relaxing in the boughs of oaks and elms, flowers tucked behind her ears, the tip of her luxurious tail twitching slightly in the breeze.

According to legend, you never know when you might encounter this creature, but when you do, chance has favored you, as the Treasure Fox is aptly named...she is famous for leaving piles of gold wherever she goes, coins clinking and dropping from her fur to form glittering piles of riches.

The Treasure Fox loves nothing more than to be chased, so she goes about loudly dropping coins in her wake, enticing people to come out and chase her. Unfortunately for whoever pursues her, the Treasure Fox cannot or will not be captured, and she will lead folks on a merry pursuit that very well may end in their exhaustion and her laughter.

Despite this, the Treasure Fox does not appear to be malicious, simply a capricious trickster, as most foxes are, and you will often hear her laughter as people snatch up coins and dart around the woods, trying to find her.

As a consolation for never being able to do more than catch a glimpse of her, however, the coins people collect chasing her do not seem to be magical in and of themselves and function just as any currency would.

They do not disappear after being picked up, and they carry a unique imprint...instead of the face of some distant ruler or government founder, they feature a fox prancing on her hind legs, fluffy tail swaying behind her as she dances to music only she can hear. These coins are exceptionally valuable, both for the gold they contain, as well as a collector's item.

So, if you find yourself in the Schwarzwald one day and hear the clinking of coins, followed by laughter, and catch a glimpse of a golden-colored fox, you've been lucky enough to encounter the Treasure Fox. If you listen closely, you might hear her singing:

Run, run, run
Or they'll put me in a box,
You can't catch me
For I'm the Treasure Fox!

Sabrina smiled and gently touched her fingertips to the words on the page. She didn't care about becoming rich through enchanted gold, and the story was most likely a tall-tale, but at the same time, given what she'd seen of the Schwarzwald, there was a least a chance such a fantastical creature existed. Was it possible the animals in the Black Forest had access to the Waldkonig's magic, or did they possess powers of their own?

There was so much she didn't know, and suddenly the amount of information she lacked felt so over-whelming, she leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. There weren't enough hours in the day for her to memorize everything she needed to know. Perhaps if she didn't require sleep and had more waking hours to spend studying, she might make faster progress...but anything she'd heard about witches who used sleep-avoiding spells never ended well.

The spell either seemed to rebound at some point, often putting the witch to sleep for a year or more, or it worked so well that when the witch was ready to sleep again, she found herself unable to do so, often permanently. Sabrina had heard stories of witches driven insane by their ability to be constantly awake and, while she wished she had more hours in her day, she also had no interest in permanently disrupting her sleep cycle.

Hours later, Sabrina rubbed her hands against her eyes, leaned her head against the back of her chair, and gazed upwards, her vision blurred. She'd read so much, most of it floated uselessly between her ears, but she nevertheless tried to force it into something coherent.

While it was certainly possible whoever held the title of Waldkonig had changed over the years, given the time and energy that had gone into selecting just the right magical being for each of the Great Forests, Sabrina thought it more likely the being holding the position was immortal, or at least capable of living far longer than a typical human or even a witch.

Following that logic, however, meant the entity she'd connected with was the same one who had orchestrated the Great Purge, and although she knew she ought to be upset by such a thing, the truth was Sabrina struggled to muster feelings for things that didn't affect her directly.

While she had no doubt that time in history had been horrific for the witches forced to endure it, she also couldn't find it within herself to be outraged at actions that had occurred more than two centuries prior to her own existence.

She'd also conclusively established that the term Waldkonig was a title, synonymous with Forest King or Forest Guardian, but she'd never seen anything about a name. Did someone like the Waldkonig have a name? Picturing the piercing hazel-grey eyes and angular face she'd had but a moment to glimpse, she tried to imagine what such a being might be called but couldn't come up with anything suitable.

In addition, she'd effectively determined that the Waldkonig had more powers and abilities than anyone else she'd ever heard of, and while it amazed her to think so much magic resided just across the river, it also frustrated her, since she had no way to use it for her own ends.

Scooping up her books, Sabrina made her way to the librarian's desk. She would check them out and take them with her to read whenever she had time, and if more information was needed, she would return and see where the Leiten Stone directed her next.

Placing the books on the broad borrowing desk, she was glad to see her favorite librarian, Tante Winola, seated there, and she smiled at the kindly woman, who returned the expression before passing each book over a large, flat, onyx stone set squarely in the middle of the desk.

The stone somehow recorded both the name of the book and the witch who was borrowing it, and if you kept a book too long you'd receive a message in the form of a red star hovering above your book, reminding you to return it so others could read it. Sabrina knew Gerta had once kept a book for so long the volume had sealed itself shut, refusing to allow her to open the covers or turn a single page until it was returned to the library.

As Tante Winola reached for the fifth book, A History of Witches in the Schwarzwald, Sabrina shook her head. "Actually, I don't think I'll be needing that one. You can go ahead and keep it here."

"Are you sure?" Tante Winola smiled fondly at the cover. "The stories in here are wonderful...not your usual bedtimes stories, of course, but there's something thrilling about encountering a dancing Treasure Fox scattering coins as she prances through the forest."

"I did like the stories I read," admitted Sabrina. "I just don't see them being helpful in my research."

Tante Winola nodded and set the book aside, where it would be reshelved, waiting patiently for the next reader to come along.

"It seems your research involves the Schwarzwald," the librarian said, handing the books back to Sabrina. "I'm not surprised...most Hexen eventually find themselves fascinated to be living across from someplace they're forbidden from entering, and the library offers them a way to learn more."

Sabrina nodded, deciding it was better to let Tante Winola think what she would rather than trying to explain things that might be viewed as beyond the knowledge Sabrina was supposed to possess as a witchling. The way she saw it, as long as she was getting the books from the Hexen library, which was open to all the witches in the castle, she wasn't doing anything wrong or learning about anything not meant for her...but she also didn't want to draw additional attention to her endeavors.

"It's nice to see a witch your age taking an interest in our history," continued Tante Winola, her dark eyes sparkling behind the pince-nez perched on the tip of her nose. "So many girls nowadays think the past is boring or doesn't apply to them, but it's how we became who we are. There's nothing more important than knowing where you came from; otherwise, how will you know where you want to go?"

"That's exactly what I want to know," replied Sabrina before she could stop herself, so relieved to hear someone understand at least part of how she felt. "I want to chart my own future, so I need to know what I'm building on and where I'm coming from."

"Good luck," grinned Tante Winola, folding one small hand over the other and leaning forward. "Those who want to create something new are always witches to watch. And those who want to create their own future..." her voice trailed off, and she winked. "Let's just say I think we can expect your future to be unlike anyone else's."

"I hope so," replied Sabrina, the words hot on her lips. Thanking Tante Winola, she carried her books to her workroom and arranged them neatly on the counter before locking the door and heading to her apartment.

She would create her own future, just as she would eventually create things no one else had even imagined, much less attempted. She wanted it so badly, it simply had to be her destiny.

And if it wasn't right now, well, she would simply bend destiny to her will.

Picture by Annie Spratt from Unsplash